Published: Monday, May 20, 2013 at 9:18 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, May 20, 2013 at 9:18 a.m.

The new occupants of the largest ground level space in the old Masonic Temple on N. Front Street proclaim that they specialize in Southern barbecue and beer. I wholeheartedly agree with the latter part of the statement – there are 40 taps, including some excellent craft brews – but I have a bone or two to pick with the first part.

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I'll preface everything by saying that, in general, the food at Smoke is good. Some is very good, but some falls a little short.

I'll also submit that talking about barbecue in the South is akin to talking religion or politics. There's bound to be some dissent.

The service at Smoke is cafeteria-style, with a couple of steam tables and a refrigerator case at the back of the house near the kitchen. You grab a tray, tell them what you want, they serve it up and ring it out for you, and you make your way to a table or a spot at the bar to eat. At some point, a server will come around to check and see if you want to order something other than a soft drink. If you've been to a cafeteria or a country cooking buffet, you're already pretty familiar with the process, except most of those places don't serve alcohol.

I'll start with the good news. The St. Louis-style ribs, which are pork spareribs trimmed and cut straight, were slow-cooked properly – slowly enough that practically all the fat had melted through, but not so overdone that they disintegrated – and were pretty good for restaurant ribs. They had some basic flavor on their own from a sauce that was used during cooking, but you can kick it up a couple of notches with some hot sauce, a traditional Hickory barbecue sauce or a very nice mustard-based finishing sauce for some South Carolina barbecue flair.

The pork barbecue I had was lean and smoky, but a little dry. It needed help from some sauce. It is not what a lot of folks would consider Carolina barbecue (which means a lot of different things), but it wasn't bad.

The beef brisket slices were similarly lean and held together well, which is a good sign that it had been smoked long enough to become tender, but not so long to turn it into mush. The brisket is served au jus, so it stays pretty moist.

I found the smoked turkey in white gravy way too salty, but the smoky smell was heavenly.

The sides are what I think of as typical Southern Sunday dinner fare: green bean casserole, macaroni and cheese, collards, mashed potatoes and so on. The green bean casserole got a little weird for me with some raw onion in there, but otherwise it was reminiscent of the cream-of-mushroom-soup-based classic. The collards were a bit salty both times I had them, and the cheesy potatoes were undercooked, with too much flour in with the cheese. On the other hand, the red-skinned mashed potatoes and brown gravy were solidly good comfort food.

The praline-encrusted (their word, not mine) sweet potato casserole totally qualifies as dessert, and is delicious if you consider it such. It was a bit cloying as a veggie side dish.

The cornbread tastes a lot like cake.

I found the desserts to be good all around, if not outstanding. The caramel-sauce-topped apple pie and blueberry bread pudding would have benefited greatly by being warmed and served a la mode. I had a pretty decent Boston cream pie and a very good banana pudding, although I've never had banana pudding that I found objectionable.

The first time I visited Smoke, I found the layout awkward and the graphic-novel-style décor a bit off-putting, but they are growing on me. There are some items on the menu that need refinement, but there is some great potential.

In short, Smoke brings something different downtown, and it's worth a try. I'd suggest grabbing a beer and rack of ribs.

<p>The new occupants of the largest ground level space in the old Masonic Temple on N. Front Street proclaim that they specialize in Southern barbecue and beer. I wholeheartedly agree with the latter part of the statement – there are 40 taps, including some excellent craft brews – but I have a bone or two to pick with the first part.</p><p>I'll preface everything by saying that, in general, the food at Smoke is good. Some is very good, but some falls a little short.</p><p>I'll also submit that talking about barbecue in the South is akin to talking religion or politics. There's bound to be some dissent.</p><p>The service at Smoke is cafeteria-style, with a couple of steam tables and a refrigerator case at the back of the house near the kitchen. You grab a tray, tell them what you want, they serve it up and ring it out for you, and you make your way to a table or a spot at the bar to eat. At some point, a server will come around to check and see if you want to order something other than a soft drink. If you've been to a cafeteria or a country cooking buffet, you're already pretty familiar with the process, except most of those places don't serve alcohol.</p><p>I'll start with the good news. The St. Louis-style ribs, which are pork spareribs trimmed and cut straight, were slow-cooked properly – slowly enough that practically all the fat had melted through, but not so overdone that they disintegrated – and were pretty good for restaurant ribs. They had some basic flavor on their own from a sauce that was used during cooking, but you can kick it up a couple of notches with some hot sauce, a traditional Hickory barbecue sauce or a very nice mustard-based finishing sauce for some South Carolina barbecue flair.</p><p>The pork barbecue I had was lean and smoky, but a little dry. It needed help from some sauce. It is not what a lot of folks would consider Carolina barbecue (which means a lot of different things), but it wasn't bad.</p><p>The beef brisket slices were similarly lean and held together well, which is a good sign that it had been smoked long enough to become tender, but not so long to turn it into mush. The brisket is served au jus, so it stays pretty moist.</p><p>I found the smoked turkey in white gravy way too salty, but the smoky smell was heavenly. </p><p>The sides are what I think of as typical Southern Sunday dinner fare: green bean casserole, macaroni and cheese, collards, mashed potatoes and so on. The green bean casserole got a little weird for me with some raw onion in there, but otherwise it was reminiscent of the cream-of-mushroom-soup-based classic. The collards were a bit salty both times I had them, and the cheesy potatoes were undercooked, with too much flour in with the cheese. On the other hand, the red-skinned mashed potatoes and brown gravy were solidly good comfort food. </p><p>The praline-encrusted (their word, not mine) sweet potato casserole totally qualifies as dessert, and is delicious if you consider it such. It was a bit cloying as a veggie side dish.</p><p>The cornbread tastes a lot like cake.</p><p>I found the desserts to be good all around, if not outstanding. The caramel-sauce-topped apple pie and blueberry bread pudding would have benefited greatly by being warmed and served a la mode. I had a pretty decent Boston cream pie and a very good banana pudding, although I've never had banana pudding that I found objectionable.</p><p>The first time I visited Smoke, I found the layout awkward and the graphic-novel-style décor a bit off-putting, but they are growing on me. There are some items on the menu that need refinement, but there is some great potential. </p><p>In short, Smoke brings something different downtown, and it's worth a try. I'd suggest grabbing a beer and rack of ribs.</p>